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Q&A: Pretension & Cults

Q&A after BTW on 21 May 2010, Muscat, Oman

Topics:Preten- sion & Cults; How to know we are progressing spiritually; Accepting physical aging; How not to dissipate our energy;Great Masters put theaxe at the root of the expectations; Increase in elligibility is always based on detachment; Third dimension of a person…

Open to receive the Grace

Q: I was thinking today that we always say that Masters’ grace is there, but it depends on our receptivity to receive it. I feel receptivity is not only listening but completeness of listening-understanding-assimi- lating-(and) implementing. Will all 4 together become receptivity?

A: Yes, and the core is faith. The spine of all is faith.

Q: So, if we have faith then all the four will follow?

A: Yes.

Q: Sometimes we just listen and neglect what we heard.

A: No. Not only that. Most people live based onpretentions.You knowwe pretend to be what we are not or we pretend to be what society needs us to be. This is why we are not progressing spiritually.The moment you accept your weaknesses, the moment you accept who you exactly are, without adding pepper and salt, that time we start progressing. But we don’t allow that. We pretend to be what we are not over a period of time, maybe till the end of the life as well. Sometimes we even enter into certain‘cults’or we happen to be in some spiritual sects –we make ourselves believe that we are on the right track and then we adjust to it.It is almost similar to the frog syndrome – you adjust so much to the temperature that you cannot get out of it. We adjust and we move on with the same process until we are not able to get out. A lot of insecurity is created, like‘if we get out, whathappens?’The comfort related to the sect, or comfort related to the situation, bogs us down, i.e. kind of destabilizes or immobilizes us. The whole energy to get out of the situation never happens.

This is not spirituality.This is anti-spirituality.Actually if you want to be spiritualyou have to be kind of fluid. Keep flowing.It is a journey in which you get a lot of road signs. The choice of looking at the road sign is yours. If you know the way, you can go.Gurus are only road signs, just directing you to yourSelf.Gurus have no further role. Of course, the grace element will be there provided there is an attitude of surrender and deep faith. The divinity then takes over. Otherwise, when we are progressing in the path of spirituality, we just go through the path and follow the road signs correctly and then there is no problem 80% of times.

But what happens is that somebody else guides us who is also a seeker…. saying-‘Oh, I had a wonderful experience – why don’t you comealong?’This could be that person’s experience and nothing to do with you. We still go for it or make ourselves believe that it is the right path and get stuck there. Like that we get stuck at various points. Our journey is delayed. Eventually, you will reach the destination. But it may be a long travel, for many lives!

To measure how far you have progressed in this life, revert back to how much you have travelled in past life. We have done some spiritual activities in the past life. We can’t prove them scientifically; (now you can prove to an extent through regression therapy, etc.). We do not remember them because we are operating from a new intelligence and not from the old subconscious when we did the activities. This data has been carried in the form of ‘impressions’ to this life. But the faculty we are using is the new fresh body, fresh mind and fresh intellect. This fresh stuff which is the conscious mind, body and intellect cannot understand a thing happened in past life as this did not exist in that life. It is the new tool. Bulb doesn’t know where the electricity originated. We go on like that. That is why we always have to shut off the conscious mind to revert back to the original self. That is why we are practicing meditation.

Everything is important, everything is good. The most important thing is this-Where do we want to stand? And where do we want to go?

Q:During the meditation, I felt like I was moving in this merry-go-round and also had glimpses of people I didn’t know.

A:Yeah. All those are glimpses from a realm which you are otherwise unable to tap into. These are all also collectors as well. Means you have to meet them – shake hands, and depart. Or it could be something which was exiting you.

In this meditation,tremendous cleansing happens. You get relieved from a lot of stuff which pass through your mind. Some entities, which may or may not have a body, pass through your mind and exit. So, you will feel something has left you and/or that you have met somebody. Mind will try to contemplate, but consciousness cannot understand because this probably is related to another life. So it can only be felt. It can never be perceived exactly. In such cases what you have to do is -watch it like a movie and do not get attached. Sometimes the traumas are tremendous. It really gives you the squeeze and your emotions will overflow. That time also, just watch it like a movie and let it go. The more you hold it, the more agony. The lesser you hold it, the lesser is the attachment or agony. We have to be very objective about all these experiences. Just watch. Say – Ok, Fine. I had this experience. No problem. And go on.

The more you root in your spine, your stability will increase. Your strength happens when your subtlety increases. In the gross level, you are weak as you operate through the senses. For example, it is like when you go to, let’s say, a bakery. You see a lot of pastries there for sale. Automatically half of your strength is gone there because senses have pulled you already. And then your mind is already weak since senses say “I want to taste this”. Then you are just going through the process of paying for it, buying and consuming it.The more you get to the spine and exist inyour spine, the push or the pull of the senses will be much less.That becomes your strength so that you will not easily be swayed by what is visible outside! This is why sometimesSaintsoperate in jungles. They do not even want to get exposed to the sensory objects, including people. Sometimes someone comes to you with glass, ornaments and stuff like that which you might get attached to.

Be rooted in the spine – then nothing can shake you!

You look at the mirror many times in a day and re-establish your own image to yourself! If something happens, you fall! If the image remains intact, and you are liking what is in the mirror, good enough! But if there is a change, such as old age, then what happens? It’s annihilation of some image. When that annihilation happens some people just go haywires. They cannot accept old age gracefully. This is human nature. Whatever we are getting over attached to is not good. Of course, as a lady, you need to be presentable, I can understand that. But how dependent you are on your own image? This is one aspect of how you are attached to your own life.

The changes happening may not be graceful. They may be forced changes. I cannot help it. I cannot get it. I am getting old. Then, we start getting frustrated about all the age-related problems.

This is because we are not deciding the changes. Society decides and we obey. Society decides that a 20yr old must have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or should get married, and we inherit that. It is our responsibility to practice it!At no point do we thinkwhy not I be different!?

I like to walk alone. I wrote that in my blog. One relative asked me what you would like to do. I said thatI’d like to be alone.He got annoyed, since he thought I am making fun of him. Because he cannot understand a situation where one would love to be alone and that it is possible. It’s fine. I am alone. It should not be escapism though—‘I am not able to get friends so I want to be alone’.

Choosing to be alone with full integrity and strength for the sake of subtlety (means, pulling away from the senses and gross body, to the level of the soul) where you are all powerful; then you are definitely very powerful.This is a time when people get attracted to you, whether you want it or not -because your strength is much higher than that of an average person. The dissipation of energy is much less in you. How is energy dissipated? It is through the senses and the mind. It is getting dissipated through oscillations of thoughts between your past and future, i.e. guilt about the past and anxiety about the future.These 2 things suck your energy away. That completely annihilates you.And this is not annihilation ofShiva, or annihilation for the sake of dissolving, it is of thekarmic push.It is painful, and then you crave. When you crave, emotions happen. When emotions happen, another life happens! That is why over lifetimes situations are repeated. We have the choice of what to do with the situations in this life. You have only the present to work on. Nothing else. Future does not exist if present does not exist. That is why all the Masters always point their fingers to the present and say “Do this now.” If you are in the present all time, then no need of meditation, no need of Gurus, Just Be.

This is theoretically easy to understand, but practically very difficult; because there will be always someone who gives you anxiety of the future sayingwhat will you do after 10 years?That is all! This is what we are. That’s our nature. Let’s accept it. Only through acceptance can we correct it.

Our reality is absolutely perfect for us. First is shaking hands with our reality.It is not a coincidence that you are at a place at a particular time, at a particular juncture, with the particular intellect and the particular body. This is not co-incidence and it was all supposed to happen.

Everything is pre decided. So now what you do with that system, infrastructure and the availableincidence is what is more important.

Do you get the point? It’s nothing to be scared about. It’s just to operate in the present.

Firstly, acceptance as I told last time. Second, non-resistant to situation i.e. if some food you never ordered came to you, just accept it as it is. This is not passive acceptance, not being a door mat.

There is a difference. Being a door mat is kind of victim feeling of being a victim. It is like—‘this is a situation today. Let me go through the situation. So that I get empowered’. There is no friction or resistance within. This empowers you. You are stronger when dissipation of energy is less and resistance is less. We are a body. Body has a constitution and the consciousness. Accept that.

Whatever it is, it is fine. Never compare. Somebody else has a better body. Arnold may have better muscles and body than me. We can never get satisfied if we compare like this. We always look at somebody who is better than us. … in our mind. We never look at somebody lower than us and say….. I am better than him!

When we stop comparing and accept ourselves as we are, there begins the liberation. Less friction and resistance leads to liberation. Feeling that- I did not get what I deserve is wrong – because, again, we are comparing.The Dharma of existence is that everyone gets what theydeserve and NOT what they desire.

Q:Is it possible that, even though there are friends, you know that you can be without them. You are not dependant on them. You are there for them rather than needing them. What do you do in this case? Can you stand alone?

A:Yes. Be yourself and be benevolent. Express love and compassion. Standing alone should not be escapism. I stand alone because I do not have friends…is escapism. You have friends, you love them, but you are not dependent on them. Dependency leads to emotions and expectations. Expectations always bring agony. We were supposed to go for lunch together but he did not come!

Friction. Agony. Expectations are difficult to handle in life. We all have them.Great Masters put theaxe at the root of the expectations.Hundreds of people are waiting to see a Master, and he never turns up. You shout… I waited for you! I wasted my time…!Those eligible will wait. And even if youdo not see me you will still get me.

Q:Is it possible that, you may not find someone whom you can look up to?

A:It is possible because it depends on what you need or deserve. What if you increase your deserving level? How can you increase your deserving level? If you have experience and qualification of a CEO, you enter CEO position. Can a 10th std student become a CEO?Increase in eligibility isalways based on detachment. Why after some time your friends change? It is because your position changes, as well as your communication level. Only corresponding friends will happen. Some previous friends may not understand what you are doing! They may not understand your evolution.

You may measure the progress by the number of friends dropping away!

Measure the depth of expectation of yourself. Write down all expectations and then ask yourself….. “Do I deserve all this?!” Don’t underestimate or judge. See where you stand. We always analyze other persons and never ourselves. But be aware thatwe can never understand the thirddimension of another person.We see what we can see and see how they operate in the external world. The tragedy is that, most of us operate in the external world on pretensions of what we are not!We are dependent on society to call us good!

Faith is important.I have faith…. This statement is not important.Faith should be practicedat every point in life, with surrender.E.g. this is a situation, this is me and my intelligence, and I have done 100% from my side…. Rest, leave it to the Masters, whichever Master(s) you believe in.

Surrender at His feet and never look back. It will work. Or it will be like planting a seed and digging it out all the time to check whether it sprouted.